This is the final Hmmcast of 2006 and was meant to be the last post of 2006. My bad for not pulling the trigger last night. This one has an odd twist: there’s no actual audio to go with this at publishing time (then how can it be called a ‘cast’?), hence the name “unplugged” in the title.

Why?

More on that in a future post, but in the meantime Happy New Year 2007 everybody and don’t be surprised if you see a few changes around Hmm today and beyond. Don’t you love the smell of fresh paint?

Most Hmm-worthy posts from December 2, 2006 - December 31, 2006
- David Berlind, here is the dark side of URL shortening services (4) [dec 3]

“Well said. Providing a obfuscated redirect service in a way that isn’t abused is very very difficult. The redirect site’s abuse desk doesn’t see all the email and IM spam containing its link — they only get the clicks. This creates a very murky mess — Is a volume redirect click abusive (the screenshot) or just popular (the mentos diet coke fad)?”
– Comment by Miles — December 4, 2006 @ 2:10 pm

- Niall Kennedy uses porn controversial image to teach Microsoft blog hotlinking lesson (4) [dec 4]

“Kennedy took one of the web’s most infamous pornographic images and put the Creative Commons logo over the explicit part so that you could avoid seeing far more of the mooning man than anyone would ever want to see. The original’s pornographic without a doubt. His objection to the media coverage depends on whether a pornographic image is still pornographic if you obscure the dirty parts.”
– Comment by Rogers Cadenhead — December 5, 2006 @ 12:30 pm

- (most) Bloggers aren’t journalists, stop with the assumption already (3) [dec 5]
- Apple needs Nintendo to counter Microsoft (5) [dec 5]
- Swivel Preview now available for ‘YouTube for data’ (6) [dec 3]
- R.I.P James Kim (4) [dec 6]
- Akismet et al erroneously flagging trackbacks from Hmm as SPAM, not HAM (19) [dec 7]

“Oh, and I’ll have to say that I did write twice on the comment section for help on fixing Akismet for MT a while back. No one from Automattic got back to me (before when I reported just an Akismet issue, Matt wrote back like right away).”
– Comment by darkmoon — December 7, 2006 @ 11:27 pm

- Microsoft names another Scoble replacement with Jon Udell as evangelist (5) [dec 8]

“It will be clearer in January about Jon’s purpose and you’ll see it as a somewhat different charter than Robert’s.”
– Comment by Jeff Sandquist — December 8, 2006 @ 2:31 pm

- Share YouTube videos in real time via Test Tube experiment (2) [dec 9]
- First time rented and watched movie on Xbox 360 last night (1) [dec 10]
- How to launch a browser with webpage at a certain time each day, week or month using Windows Scheduled Tasks (0) [dec 10]
- Create and deploy your own Xbox 360 games with XNA Game Studio Express launch (5) [dec 12]
- Unlimited Skype calling in 2007 for $14.95 by Jan 31, 2007 (3) [dec 13]
- 24 jumps the silver spoon by hiring Ricky Schroder (8) [dec 13]
- Amanda Congdon on ABC News, Amanda UnRSSed (6) [dec 13]

“We have plans for subscription to be up and running by next weeks show. Right now the show hovers between Internet TV and a videoblog– not a good place to be. I think a videoblog needs to have links, comments and subscription or it just isn’t a videoblog.”
– Comment by Amanda Congdon — December 13, 2006 @ 10:43 pm

- The FTC and somebody please give me something positive to write about Sony (24) [dec 13]
- Tree damage, grid crippled (5) [dec 17]
- Are people trying to break their Wiimote wrist straps? (5) [dec 18]

“I have two girls (6 and 7) who turn into Venus and Serena when they play tennis.
They’ve never let go of the controller, much less thrown it across the room.
I thing people are being silly about the whole thing and news outlets are half reporting the story by labeling it a “recall”. I heard this on the radio this morning and it made me angry to hear such sloppy reporting.”
– Comment by Wayne — December 18, 2006 @ 6:48 pm

- Lump of coal #1: When you try and give feedback and can’t (updated) (5) [dec 20]

“Yeah, that’s no good. Looking into it. Will hopefully have it back up soon.”
– Comment by Matt McAlister — December 20, 2006 @ 2:17 pm

- Joyful Tidings #1: Wii be browsing, thanks Opera (1) [dec 22]
- Christmas Eve Game Wave and family traditions (2) [dec 25]
- Martha Stewart uses the Thumper, has no close friends (9) [dec 27]
- Would you use a PayPal Virtual Debit Card? (8) [dec 27]
- The almost televised hanging of Saddam Hussein (4) [dec 30]

Hmm Reviews
Game system: Sony PS3 (C+)
Remote backup solution: Data Deposit Box (C-)
Movie in theaters: Rocky Balboa (C+)
Website reference: Search Engine Glossary (C)
Webcam: Creative IM Pro Webcam (C+)

Historical news events and releases
- Nintendo Wii launches in Japan, also releases forecast channel and browser
- Joseph Barbera, James Kim, former President Gerald Ford, James Brown and others pass on
- Jon Udell leaves Infoworld for Microsoft’s Channel 9
- eBay announces unlimited SkypeOUT plans for 2007
- Time magazine makes ‘You’ the Person of the Year
- Digg adds two new main categories: video and podcasts
- AllofMP3 sued for over a trillion dollars

Did this post make you go hmm?

Maybe Related Posts (plugin generated)

• Hmmcast #29: The one that almost got away
• Hmmcast #28: Musical chairs
• Hmmcast #23: Linux, Live.com and the church of Google
• How to add Zune 1-click podcasting subscription to your site
• Hmmcast #27: Memories
• Hmmcast #25: Better late than severed